The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has officially announced that it will reduce its imports of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) once the Dangote Refinery begins production in late July or early August.
Findings revealed that as the sole importer of petrol in Nigeria, NNPCL has shouldered this responsibility for years. Other oil marketers have stopped importing petrol due to their inability to access US dollars at the official rate.
When asked about the impact of this on the NNPCL fuel imports program, the national oil firm’s spokesperson, Garba-Deen Muhammad, explained that the NNPCL would be supplying crude oil to the Dangote Refinery based on a business agreement between both parties.
He said:
“NNPC Limited is bringing in products from outside Nigeria as a matter of necessity, not as a matter of choice. We would have preferred that we produce here, refine here and we sell and provide the energy security that the country needs.
“Because of the circumstances that surround our refineries, we cannot allow the country to be grounded. So we have to buy wherever we can get and sell. So if Dangote products are available, why should we not buy from Dangote?
“There is absolutely no reason. And that is the reason why we are interested in the Dangote Refinery. We are co-owners, shouldn’t we do business with our partners rather than do it with other people?”
Muhammad explained that the NNPCL would be supplying crude oil to the Dangote Refinery based on the business agreement between both parties and that this would be following the international price of crude.
He said:
“NNPC owns 20 per cent of that asset and we have an agreement with Dangote that we will supply the refinery with crude. So as soon as Dangote begins to request for crude to pay for it, NNPC is prepared to supply the crude as a business transaction.
“We have been selling crude to different parts of the world for decades, and it is not whether we will sell it to Dangote, for why won’t we sell to Dangote when we are selling to other refineries and countries?”
The Dangote Refinery, which was inaugurated on May 22, 2023, was seen as a game-changer for the Nigerian oil industry.
The facility, which is capable of processing six hundred and fifty thousand barrels of crude oil per day, is owned by Dangote Group, with NNPCL owning a 20 per cent stake.
At the inauguration, Aliko Dangote, the Founder/Chairman of Dangote Group, stated that the refinery would put an end to the inflow of toxic substandard petroleum products into Nigeria and meet 100% of the country’s fuel needs.
The Dangote Refinery was set to begin delivering refined products to the Nigerian market in late July or early August this year, according to a statement by the company’s CEO, Aliko Dangote.
NNPCL Group CEO, Mele Kyari had stated that the supply of three hundred thousand barrels of crude oil per day by the national oil firm to the Dangote Refinery would start once the facility commenced operations.
Although Dangote Refinery was set to improve the supply of petroleum products in Nigeria, the cost of white products will only be determined by the pricing template of the facility.
Oil marketers have expressed hope that the refinery will positively impact the industry.
It was said that the pricing template from the new refinery will guide operators on the cost of refined petroleum products from the facility.
